In medical practice a delivery appliance of one size must frequently be connected to a delivery source of a different size. One common example is a tubular needle designed to be used in a syringe. Disposable needles are well known in the medical sciences and are mass manufactured so that they can be easily inserted into a delivery source, utilized for their intended purpose, and then discarded. The luer connection hub or fitting was developed before disposable syringes and needles as a standard receptacle for receiving needles and other tubular delivery appliances.
The use of luer fitting appliances in standardized sizes requires manufacturers to supply delivery appliances that easily fit into a luer fitting. The most common method for manufacturing these delivery appliances is by insertion molding. In insertion molding, a delivery appliance is inserted into a mold and a luer fitting adapter is molded permanently around the delivery appliance. Since tubular delivery appliances are produced in a wide variety of diameters, a large number of different molding arrangements are needed to fill orders.
Insertion molding works well if the production quantities of the product are sufficiently high to justify the purchase or retrofitting of an insertion molding assembly machine to build the required luer-ready appliances. However, in may instances, manufacturers are not equipped to handle small volume orders for specific luer-ready appliances, and frequently delay production until the ordered quantity is large enough to justify the expense of retrofitting or purchasing the molding equipment or parts.
Accordingly, there is a need for a luer adapter for delivery appliances that can be manufactured inexpensively in small quantities so that small quantities of luer-ready delivery appliances can be supplied promptly.